Everyone has an idea in their head when it comes to looking their fittest and healthiest. We all have our own goals for how we want to look and feel. Although your specific goals may be different from those of others, almost everyone wants to look and feel toned and fit. Tone is associated with muscles that appear attractively fit, healthy and defined without being too bulky. On the other hand, bulking up means adding a lot of muscle mass to the body and possibly (although not always) reducing one’s body fat, too. Toning is a term used to describe the end goal, which usually results from a combination of basic weight-lifting and fat-burning. Let’s focus on the most common fitness goals toning and bulking and the myths surrounding them.

Myth 1: Building muscles and bulking up is the same thing

Many people shy away from lifting heavy out of fear of getting overly bulky. When you lift weights is that you create tiny tears in the muscle fibers. When these tears get repaired by the body the muscles go on to become stronger and a little bit bigger. Muscle tissue is more dense than fat, adding some muscle to your body and lowering your fat will typically make you look leaner not bulkier. The truth is that getting a bulky, bodybuilder’s body takes years and does not happen overnight. The whole process requires a very well-designed and controlled diet and exercise program. Lifting weight for both men and women helps to keep your metabolism fired up and burning excess fat all the time.

Research has shown that a high protein diet can help contribute to weight lose through appetite to control and improved muscle growth. Whey in particular has been shown to help improve body composition reducing body fat and increasing muscle tone.

Myth 3: Losing fat vs. losing weight

Toning up means you are losing fat, not weight. When you tone up, you won’t necessarily see the scale change numbers. The ideal is that you lose fat and keep some muscle. Losing weight means the goal is simply to change the scale number – to move from a bigger number to a lower number.

Myth 4: Women and men should lift weight differently

Men are genetically stronger than women. Most of the women tend to stick to the weight machines or basic leg work that target the rear end and abs, while the guys at the gym are more likely to working out with free weights or using barbells. Obviously, gender differences exist. Women not to fear the weight differentials. If you’re trying to lose fat, or build muscle, or get toned, make sure you have a plan for strength training. The same exercises that improve men’s’ muscles – big, compound exercises will improve women’s’ muscles also.

Myth 5: Lifting light weight won’t build muscles

Growing stronger and building muscle is mostly due to diet and forcing your body to adapt. Lifting heavier weight is definitely conducive to building more muscle and getting stronger. High rep, low weight exercise will not make you more toned than heavy weights, but it will increase your muscular endurance. However, the time it takes to reach fatigue with light weights is much longer than the time it takes to reach fatigue with heavier weights.